High Court orders Tk 171m compensation for victims of 2003 launch capsize

The High Court has upheld a verdict, which ordered Tk 171.1 million in compensation for the victims of a launch capsize that took place on the Meghna River 14 years ago, reports bdnews24.com.    

The trial court had ordered Tk 1 million each for families of those who died in the 2003 accident and Tk 100,000 for the injured.

On Monday, a High Court bench gave the order after scrapping a pervious rule issued against the trial court's verdict.

On July 8, 2003, passenger vessel MV Nasrin-1 sank in the river in Chandpur killing 110 people, including the owner. As many as 119 passengers went missing.

The launch, which departed from Dhaka, was heading to the southern island district of Bhola.

The Chandpur district administration released a list of 400 victims the same year, after which the shipping ministry disbursed a compensation of over Tk 7 million -- between Tk 15,000 and Tk 20,000 for each of the victims' families.

In 2004, Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust or BLAST took the issue to a Dhaka court as it found the compensation 'insufficient'.

The lawsuit claimed that 121 persons died in the accident and sought Tk 289.39 million in compensation. Twelve years later, in 2016, the court ordered Tk 171.1 million compensation.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority or BIWTA challenged the decision in the High Court the same year.

The court had then issued a rule asking why the verdict would not be scrapped.

The hearing over the rule ended on May 24, when the High Court kept its verdict pending for Monday.

Subrata Chowdhury, a counsel for BLAST, told the media that the families of those who died will get Tk 1 million and the injured passengers Tk 100,000 each.